While GPS is now part of our daily lives, few know that it is based on the tireless work of a long-overlooked Black American woman: Gladys Mae West . A brilliant mathematician, she played a key role in the development of the world's most widely used geolocation system.

From humble origins to an exceptional career

Born in 1930 in Sutherland, Virginia, Gladys West grew up in a poor farming family. In an America still marked by racial segregation, her academic excellence opened the doors to Virginia State College , where she won a scholarship to study mathematics.

Graduating from a field then dominated by white men, she joined the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren in 1956 , becoming one of the few women—and the only Black woman—to hold a position as a scientific computing programmer.

The woman who shaped the Earth… mathematically

At Dahlgren, Gladys West participated in several geodetic calculation projects designed to precisely measure the shape of the Earth, known as the geoid .

His work served as the basis for the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS) , a tool that allows the exact position of an object anywhere on the planet to be determined.

Thanks to complex calculations and mathematical modeling of the globe, engineers were able to correct satellite trajectory errors and make GPS navigation reliable and universal.

A late but resounding recognition

Long overlooked, Gladys West only emerged from anonymity in the early 2000s, when a former colleague revealed the extent of her contribution to GPS technology.

In 2018, she was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame , and that same year, the BBC listed her as one of the 100 most influential women in the world .

Now 95 years old, she embodies scientific excellence, resilience and discretion .

A universal heritage

Without Gladys West's work, tools like Google Maps, Waze, Uber , or delivery apps wouldn't work with the accuracy we know today.

Her journey, marked by perseverance and faith in education, remains a source of inspiration for women and young scientists around the world .

"I always believed that if I worked hard and stayed focused, my efforts would eventually count," she said in an interview.